Contents

The Non-Aligned socialist Yugoslavia was never part of the Eastern Bloc and it was open to western influences (the West to some extent even supported Yugoslavia as a "buffer zone" to the Warsaw Pact). The New Wave scene in Yugoslavia emerged in the late 1970s and had a significant impact on the Yugoslav culture. The Yugoslav rock scene in general, including the freshly arrived new wave music, was socially accepted, well developed and covered in the media. New Wave was especially advocated by the magazines Polet from Zagreb and Džuboks from Belgrade, as well as the TV show Rokenroler, which was famous for its artistic music videos.

This anti-establishment movement was even supported, although moderately, by the Communist authorities, particularly by the Communist youth organisation which often organized concerts, festivals, parties, exhibitions, and other cultural events. The lyrics that were criticizing and satirizing the flaws of the Yugoslav socialism were considered by the authorities as a "useful and friendly critique" and were often tolerated with certain cases of censorship. Especially the Zagreb-based cult bandAzra, which is known for its political and social criticism in their songs. The Yugoslav New Wave scene also cooperated with various conceptual or artistic movements related to Pop-Art, Avant-garde etc.

With the decreasing popularity of 1970s hard rock and progressive rock among the youths after the expansion of punk and New Wave, even the cult rock band Bijelo Dugme decided to change its rural folkish hard rock style and jump onto the New Wave bandwagon. They adopted the Two Tone style for a short period of time while it was fashionable on their album Doživjeti stotu which featured the ska theme "Ha, ha, ha". The refrain lyrics were used as a title for the compilation album Svi marš na ples!.

Šarlo Akrobata changed from its initial ska and reggae-inspired period, embracing a deeper post-punk sound. They were also a support act of Gang of Four in Zagreb, before they finally split in 1981. Milan Mladenović, its notable vocalist and guitar player in 1982 formed the cult band Ekatarina Velika which was noted for its dark poetic post-punk style and intellectual attitude. In the same year, his bandmate Dušan Kojić "Koja" formed the group Disciplina kičme, a band influenced by a variety of music styles, which later rose to international prominence.

The Yugoslav New Wave period is still considered the "Golden Age" of pop and rock music in the countries that emerged after the breakup of Yugoslavia. The Yugoslav New Wave scene gave birth to some of the most important Yugoslav acts ever and it was acclaimed by the Western media (notably by Melody Maker) for its quality and originality as well.

In 2004 Igor Mirković made a film titled Sretno dijete ("Happy Child") named after a song by Prljavo kazalište. The movie covers the events in the former Yugoslav New Wave scene.